The Jazz Voyager

The Jazz Voyager is leaving Philly and heading south to Durham, North Carolina for his first visit to the historic landmark, the Hayti Heritage Center. It sits on the campus of North Carolina Central University, an HBCU founded in 1909 and America’s first public liberal arts institution.

The center was named for the independent black community founded shortly after the American Civil War on the southern edge of Durham by freedmen coming to work in tobacco warehouses and related jobs in the city. By the early decades of the 20th century, African Americans prospered due to Jim Crow, owning and operating more than 200 businesses, which were located along Fayetteville, Pettigrew, and Pine Streets, the boundaries of Hayti.

I will be in the audience to witness for a second time the vocal talents of 7 time Grammy Award nominee Nnenna Freelon, who will perform with her bassist John Brown, the North Carolina Central University Jazz Ensemble, directed by Robert Trowers and the Vocal Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Lenora Helm Hammonds, someone I have known for many years, having followed her career as a vocalist and as an educator. She continues to create wonderful accomplishments at NCCU.

The downtown location is at 801 Fayetteville Street 27705. For tickets and more information go to https://notoriousjazz.com/event/jazzmeia-horn-5

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

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The Jazz Voyager

In the air once more leaving Philadelphia on my way back to the Emerald City on the West Coast to see a Philly born bassist I have seen perform since the Seventies. It will take place in a little spot called Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley in downtown Seattle, Washington at the corner of 6th and Lenora. The intimate atmosphere sets everyone no more than fifty feet from the stage and I’m looking forward to some calamari and gelato.

So one of my favorite bassists is NEA Jazz Master, four-time Grammy winner and living legend Stanley Clarke will be on stage tonight. He is a virtuoso on both acoustic and electric bass and the first jazz-fusion bassist ever to headline tours. Co-founder of the seminal fusion group Return to Forever with Chick Corea and Lenny White, in 2012 Return to Forever won a Grammy Award and Latin Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Forever.

The downtown location is at 2033 6th Avenue, 98121. Reservations are recommended. For more information go to https://notoriousjazz.com/event/stanley-clarke.

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

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JAZZMEIA HORN

Jazzmeia Horn is one of the promising young musicians of the new jazz generation according to Downbeat: the leading jazz magazine  listed her as one of the ’25 for the Future’. The singer from New York is not only influenced by the virtuosic vocal lines and scats of Sarah Vaughan, but also by the R&B of Mary J. Blige and Erykah Badu, as well as hip-hop and spoken word. She also developed a talent for composing and arranging by collaborating with the likes of the WDR Big Band and Metropole Orchestra.

At the age of three, Jazzmeia Horn already started singing in a gospel choir. She was allowed to sing with the adults, as she was too loud for the children’s choir. Since then she has won all the important awards, including the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Vocals Competition. She has received compliments from famous colleagues such as Al Jarreau and John Hendricks. She has been compared to legendary singers such as Betty Carter and Sarah Vaughan, as well as to successful contemporaries such as Gregory Porter and Cécile McLorin Salvant.

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SCOTT HAMILTON

According to The Guardian, Scott Hamilton represents the timeless essence of jazz. The tenor saxophonist is known for his captivating style of playing, for which trumpeter Roy Eldridge was a major influence. After trying out several instruments, he picked the saxophone when he ended up in New York. He stayed with the instrument ever since and performed with jazz legends such as Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman and Woody Herman.

This concert will feature straight-ahead jazz of the highest level by a musician who has been at the international top for many years. He will be accompanied by some of the finest in Dutch jazz: Rein de Graaff on piano, Marius Beets on double bass, and Eric Ineke on drums.

‘Following a Scott Hamilton solo is like listening to a great conversationalist in full flow. First comes the voice, the inimitable, assured sound of his tenor saxophone, then the informal style and finally the amazing fluency and eloquent command of the jazz language’ (Dave Gelly).

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SCOTT HAMILTON

According to The Guardian, Scott Hamilton represents the timeless essence of jazz. The tenor saxophonist is known for his captivating style of playing, for which trumpeter Roy Eldridge was a major influence. After trying out several instruments, he picked the saxophone when he ended up in New York. He stayed with the instrument ever since and performed with jazz legends such as Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman and Woody Herman.

This concert will feature straight-ahead jazz of the highest level by a musician who has been at the international top for many years. He will be accompanied by some of the finest in Dutch jazz: Rein de Graaff on piano, Marius Beets on double bass, and Eric Ineke on drums.

‘Following a Scott Hamilton solo is like listening to a great conversationalist in full flow. First comes the voice, the inimitable, assured sound of his tenor saxophone, then the informal style and finally the amazing fluency and eloquent command of the jazz language’ (Dave Gelly).

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